F1 awaits Red Bull rule clarification for Hungary

F1 insiders are expecting the FIA to clamp down on Red Bull’s clever engine mapping that has been likened to a form of legal traction control.

Technical directors met on Monday to discuss the situation, triggered by the stewards’ admission at Hockenheim that they were powerless to ban the system despite not accepting “all the arguments” put forward by the team.

Insiders therefore expect a rules clarification, probably on the Wednesday or Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian grand prix.

“Clearly the FIA is frustrated by it,” McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh said, “so I think it will be better for there to be clarity and to stop doing it in the future.”

Joan Villadelprat, a veteran F1 engineer who now writes a column for El Pais newspaper, explained: “In F1 the regulations are very strict in some respects, and in others there is some flexibility.”

Even Christian Horner, the Red Bull boss, indicated a rule tweak is likely.

“The (current) regulations are clear, so there could well be further technical directives that are designed to try and further clarify those regulations,” he said.